Schoolchildren threw trolleys and spat at cars as they entered a Waitrose car park, according to police.

A group of boys and girls were captured on CCTV damaging the ramp to the Egham superstore in Church Road on Thursday evening (January 10).

Pictures released by Runnymede Beat show white paint all over the entrance to the car park, and graffiti on the store's entrance sign with the tag "Deaths Shadow".

The force said people had been using drugs, lighting fires, and spraying paint on the walls in the stairwell from the the car park to Tudor Court.

Police have scoured CCTV footage along with Runnymede Borough Council (RBC) camera operators, and say they believe they have identified those involved and will be “taking the evidence to the schools this week”.

Writing on its Facebook page, Runnymede Beat said: “The level of stupidity and vandalism demonstrated over the past couple of weeks is completely unacceptable and we will continue to monitor the situation with a review of our findings due to take place shortly after the weekend.

“RBC staff and contractors along with Safer Runnymede CCTV are working hard to clean up the mess and monitor activity as time goes on. We’re all working together to find other sustainable solutions to the problem. We’ll report more on that once other meetings have taken place.”

The force added: “Work has also taken place to search through Safer Runnymede CCTV in order to identify a specific group of males and females who spent their time on Thursday evening causing damage to the vehicle ramp, throwing items including a trolley and spitting onto cars entering the car park.”

A “sharp increase in antisocial behaviour and criminal damage” prompted officers to issue Section 35 dispersal orders this weekend, resulting in a number of youngsters being removed from the area and car parks.

"Deaths Shadow": Graffiti can be seen on the entrance signs to the store (Image: Runnymede Beat)

Six youngsters were ordered to leave on Friday (January 11) and were either "taken home in the back of a police car", the force said, or detained until their parents arrived.

Thanking members of the public and shop staff for their help, Runnymede Beat wrote: “Work is underway to restore normality and identify the small minority of people who appear to have been intent on wreaking havoc for everyone else.”